1. America’s Courts and the Criminal Justice System, 13th Edition
Chapter 10
From Arrest and Bail Through Arraignment

2. Learning Objectives (1 of 3)
Define the two methods of estimating the amount of crime in the United States.
Discuss how arrests made by the police impact the criminal court process.
List the four ways that criminals are formally charged in court and the major actors in each of these important documents.
List the four most common ways that defendants secure pretrial release.

3. Learning Objectives (2 of 3)
Compare and contrast “law on the books” and “law in action” approaches to bail setting, including the overall effects of the bail system on criminal defendants and their cases.
Explain the role bail agents play in the criminal justice system.
Contrast how the “law on the books” approach to criminal justice and the “law in action” perspective offer contrasting views of the preliminary hearing.

4. Learning Objectives (3 of 3)
Explain why some jurisdictions use grand juries extensively and others do not.
Delineate the three major reasons for case attrition.
Describe the four layers of the criminal justice wedding cake.

5. Thinking Point: Las Vegas Shooting
Consider the case of the Las Vegas shooting (2017).
What type of crimes were committed?
Are crimes such as this occurring more and more, or are they just receiving increased media attention?
What can be done to curb public violence?
What are the statistics regarding this kind of violence?
What can we as a society do to curb crime?

6. Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
Dramatic increase in crime from 1960s to 1980s
Crime is reported annually in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR—Uniform Crime Reporting).
Voluntary reporting to FBI
Index crimes
Eight serious Type I offenses

7. National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
Location of crime
Crime was completed or attempted
Type of weapon used
Type/value of property damaged/stolen
Personal characteristics of offender/victim
Problems with crime measurement

8. A Comparison of Type I and Type II UCR Offenses (1 of 2)
Part I: Index Crimes
Part II: Other Crimes
Violent crimes
Murder/nonnegligent manslaughter
Forcible rape
Robbery
Aggravated assault
Simple assault
Property crimes
Burglary
Larceny/theft
Motor vehicle theft
Arson
Embezzlement
Forgery/counterfeiting
Fraud
Stolen property offenses
Vandalism
Status offenses by juveniles
None
Curfew/loitering offenses
Runaways

9. A Comparison of Type I and Type II UCR Offenses (2 of 2)
Part I: Index Crimes
Part II: Other Crimes
Other crimes
None
Disorderly conduct
Driving under the influence
Drug offenses
Drunkenness
Gambling
Liquor law offenses
Loitering
Prostitution
Offenses against the family (e.g., child neglect)
Sex offenses (other than forcible rape)
Vagrancy
Weapons offenses

10. Arrest (1 of 2)
Every year the police make an estimated 10.8 million arrests for nontraffic offenses.
Mostly relatively minor crimes
Simple assault, public drunkenness, disorderly conduct, petty theft, and possession of small amounts of illegal drugs
1.97 million of these arrests are for the serious crimes
Homicide, rape, arson, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, auto theft, and larceny

11. Arrest (2 of 2) Quality of arrests Keys to conviction
Police have a lot to do with what happens in court after arrest
Keys to conviction
Collection of tangible evidence
Locating cooperative witnesses
Police departments differ in quality of arrests

12. Clearance Rates for UCR Type I Offenses
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime in the United States—2015 (Table 29: Estimated Number of Arrests). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

13. Initial Appearance Gerstein v. Pugh (1975)
Occurs within a few hours or a few days of arrest
Generally 48 hours, excluding weekends, as stated by the Supreme Court
Most misdemeanor defendants enter a plea of guilty and are sentenced immediately.
Felony defendants can’t offer a plea at this point, so it is a brief affair.

14. Thinking Point: Local Arrests
Research and locate two current arrests in your community.
Discuss the crime, what the decision of the judge was at the first appearance, and decide whether you believe the decision was fair.
Discuss why or why not you think the decision was fair.

15. Case Close-Up: County of Riverside v. McLaughlin
McLaughlin’s name went first in a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of him and other plaintiffs regarding a prompt hearing before a magistrate.
How prompt is prompt?
Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Balances between individual’s rights to liberty and society's need for effective law enforcement
Supreme Court defined prompt as 48 hours.

16. Courts, Controversy, and Economic Inequality
Are white-collar criminals underprosecuted?
What do you think? Are white-collar crimes underprosecuted?
Would white-collar crimes be better deterred by more prosecutions or more government regulations?

17. Charging Documents
Complaint
Information
Arrest warrant
Indictment

18. Law on the Books: Prosecutorial Control
Prosecutors decide whether and what charges should be filed
Wide discretion given to prosecutors by courts
No review of decisions

19. Law in Action: Police Influence
In some jurisdictions prosecutors defer to the police.
Power has been essentially transferred to the police.
In some jurisdictions, the police influence the prosecutor’s decision.
In some jurisdictions, prosecutors control filing of charges.
20–50% of all felony arrestees do not get charged.

20. Courts and Controversy: Charging Decisions
Legal reformers
Efficiency
Problem is that prosecutors’ decisions are isolated

21. Law on the Books: The Monetary Bail System
Bail procedures
Forms of bail
Preventative detention

22. Law in Action: Context of Bail Setting
Trial court judges have discretion in fixing bail.
Flight risk/nonappearance
Risk to self/others
Situational justice

23. Forms of Bail (1 of 2) Release on recognizance (ROR) Cash bond
Judges release a defendant from jail without monetary bail if they believe the person is not likely to flee.
Used most often for defendants accused of minor crimes and for those with substantial ties to the community
Cash bond
Accused posts either the full amount of cash bail or a percentage in the form of a cash bond. All of this money will be returned when all court appearances are satisfied.
Because it requires a large amount of cash, this form of bail is seldom used.

24. Forms of Bail (2 of 2) Property bond Bail bond
Most states allow a defendant (or friends/ relatives) to use a piece of property as collateral. If the defendant fails to appear in court, the property is forfeited.
Property bonds are also rare, because courts generally require that the equity in the property must be double the amount of the bond.
Bail bond
The arrestee hires a bail agent (often called a bail bondsman), who posts the amount required and charges a fee for services rendered, usually 10% of the bond amount.

25. Bail Agents and Bounty Hunters
Financial resources
Cash/property bail
Conditions of bail posting
Jurisdictional constraints

26. Effects of Bail System Direct and indirect effects on defendants
Jail conditions
Race/ethnicity
Failure to appear
Bench warrant or capais
Case disposition
Bail reform
Are bail schedules unconstitutional?
Reducing or eliminating commercial bonds

27. Pretrial Release Risk assessment Pretrial supervision
Nonfinancial conditions of release
Travel restrictions
Court-monitored supervision
Residence
Employment
Drug, alcohol, or mental health programs
Access to firearms

28. Preliminary Hearing: Weighing Probable Cause
Preliminary hearing is first time someone other than a law enforcement official reviews the case.
In grand jury states a prosecutor can still go to the grand jury if a magistrate rules there is insufficient evidence.
Prosecutor has to establish probable cause of a crime and that the defendant committed it—bound over for adjudication.

29. Variations in Using the Preliminary Hearing
Factors weighed by defense attorneys in deciding whether to demand a preliminary hearing
Practices of the local prosecutor
Strategic and tactical considerations
Client control
Overview of evidence and opportunity for discovery

30. Grand Jury (1 of 3)
Grand juries make accusations, while trial juries decide guilt or innocence
Fifth Amendment right
Applies only to federal prosecutions
Hurtado v. California (1884)

31. Grand Jury: Shield and Sword
Law on the books: Buffer between state and citizens
Investigatory powers
Indictment (true bill), no true bill
Many legal protections not applicable at grand jury stage
Authority to grant immunity from prosecution
Transactional immunity
Use immunity
Subpoena
Contempt

32. Grand Jury: Prosecutorial Domination
In theory, prosecutor functions as legal advisor
In practice, prosecutor dominates grand jury
Often function as a rubber stamp for the prosecutor

33. Reform the Grand Jury?
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Citizens’ Grand Jury Bill of Rights

34. Variability in State Use of Grand Juries
Grand Jury Indictments Required for Most or All Felonies
(N = 24)
Grand Jury Indictments Optional for
Most Felonies
(N = 25)
Grand Jury Indictments Abolished
(N = 2)
Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming
Connecticut, Pennsylvania

35. Arraignment Trial court of general jurisdiction
Defendant is formally accused of a crime
Defendant enters a plea
Signifies to courtroom work group that the defendant is likely guilty of the crime charged

36. Why Attrition Occurs Three Facets of Discretion Legal judgments
Policy priorities
Personal standards of justice

37. Case Attrition of Felony Arrests in the 75 Largest U.S. Counties
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, Washington, DC: Department of Justice.

38. The Criminal Justice Wedding Cake (1 of 2)
The layers of the criminal justice wedding cake are:
Celebrated cases
Serious felonies
Lesser felonies
Misdemeanors

39. The Criminal Justice Wedding Cake (2 of 2)
Source: Samuel Walker Sense and Nonsense about Crime, Drugs, and Communities. 8th ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage.